Airport 5
Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks
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Airport 5
Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks
Rockathon, 2001
RiYL: Paul McCartney, Jeff Mangum, Bob Mould |
Airport 5 is the eagerly awaited (in certain indie circles) reunion of Guided By Voices mainman Bob Pollard with his most worthy former musical accomplice, Tobin Sprout. But rather than a throwback to the two men's highly regarded former collaborations, Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks is a wiser, grown-up effort, imbued with the warmth of a renewed friendship. A bedroom Isolation Drills, if you will.
Sprout recorded all the instrumentation for the album near his new home in Michigan, with Pollard adding his vocals later at his Dayton mainstay, Cro-Magnon studios. But in a testament to the pair's innate musical sensibilities, the album certainly doesn't sound mailed-in or pasted together.
Opener "Burns Carpenter, Man Of Science" sets the tone with its gently paced tale of a scientist who discovers a dangerous liquid form of love. Bob and Toby invite you back into their unique world with an uncharacteristic call-and-response chorus: "this kind of love / will destroy the ozone."
But what about the kind of love that destroys one's savings account, Bob? Like the love of your music that makes folks want to buy all your records? Counting Isolation Drills and the Soft Rock Renegades album, Pollard has so far given us three albums in this barely half-spent year. Simply put, are they all worth your money?
Well for a GBV novice, I would reply equally simply: no. But guessing from the fact you're reading NATN, you likely have a modest knowledge of the man's work. And you probably know that he's been releasing stuff at this rate for a number of years now. Hell, there's already a second Airport 5 album in the can! And to that discerning buyer, there are points on which to recommend all three of this year's crop.
Isolation Drills is classic GBV -- hell, classic rock. Think Who's Next-style maximum rock power, guitar-based sonic splendour. Choreographed Man Of War is the lo-fi version of that rock, and actually closer to the center of the "GBV sound" than Drills. But Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks is of a wholly different ilk, mostly due to Sprout's presence.
Rather than Pollard getting rip-roaring drunk with mates, guitars and amplifiers, you have creative uncle Tobin giving birth to modest melodic fare on his own and mailing in the tapes. The album surely rocks out on occasion, but Sprout's songs rely more on subtlety and ideas than the aforementioned rawk power. Yet the accomplished painter has a knack for penning pocket guitar melodies that just mesh wonderfully with Pollard's voice. "Stifled Man Casino," "Total Exposure," "Up The Nails" and "Mansfield On The Sky" all have that spark that marks the best fruits of this storied collaboration.
It's easier to deal with Pollard's stream of recorded material if you think of his releases like excellently crafted magazines or publications. Buy this latest issue and you'll get a trip down memory lane for those who yearn for the GBV of Bee Thousand. Other special features include a look into the current creative exploits of our old pal Tobin Sprout and an experiment in pop minimalism by lately rawk-obsessed Pollard.
If only he'd offer a discount subscription.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.